Reed Research Reactor
About the Reactor
The Reed Research Reactor was established in 1968 and is the only reactor operated primarily by undergraduates. This section details its history, uses, and capabilities.
Introduction
The Reed College Reactor Facility has been used for research and educational projects in the Portland area since its establishment in 1968. Cooperative programs between Reed and several public and private high schools, colleges, and universities in northwestern Oregon were established in 1970 through the Nuclear Science Consortium of the Willamette Valley. These programs have been an important part of the educational picture of the region.
THE REACTOR
The Reed College Reactor is a TRIGA Mark I water-cooled, "swimming pool" reactor at the bottom of a 25-foot-deep tank. It uses 58 zirconium hydride/uranium hydride fuel elements in a circular grid array. The uranium fuel is enriched to 20 percent in uranium-235. The reactor is surrounded by a graphite ring which minimizes neutron leakage by reflecting neutrons back into the core. Most reactor components are clad with aluminum.
The Reed College Reactor is a TRIGA Mark I water-cooled, "swimming pool" reactor at the bottom of a 25-foot-deep tank. It uses 58 zirconium hydride/uranium hydride fuel elements in a circular grid array. The uranium fuel is enriched to 20 percent in uranium-235. The reactor is surrounded by a graphite ring which minimizes neutron leakage by reflecting neutrons back into the core. Most reactor components are clad with aluminum.
The reactor can operate at any power up to the license ceiling of 250 kW. This makes it possible to provide a defined neutron flux as required for the experiment. The power level is usually maintained for periods ranging from a few minutes up to eight hours. Continued or repeated operation over several days is possible for longer irradiations.
Experimenter Information
Much of the work performed at the Reed reactor is in collaboration with external research groups. If you are interested in using the Reed reactor for a project, this section is for you.
http://reactor.reed.edu/experimenter.html
What does the reactor look like at full power?
For incoming students
We are dependent on incoming freshmen who want to run the reactor. Without you we'd be shutdown in four years for lack of operators.
There are no prerequisites to taking the seminar. The orientation meeting is on Tuesday, September 6 at 7:30 pm in Psychology 105. Subsequent meetings are on Mondays.
The seminar is in addition to your regular class load. The seminar meets two nights every week. On Monday's at 7:30 pm there is a group seminar in lecture/discussion format. On Wednesday there is a practical lab to apply the skills necessary to operate the reactor. The Wednesday lab is repeated on Thursday to keep the labs small and so you have a choice of nights. There are homework assignments and checkoffs requirements in addition to the class time and labs. The seminar runs September through the first week of December.
Sometime around Thanksgiving, 15 students are selected to continue the program in January to get ready for the NRC exam in May. We come back two weeks BEFORE classes start in the Spring for two weeks of maintenance and work. That will be on January 9, 2012. The seminar then starts again in the same format (Monday and Wednesday/Thursday) until the end of April. Then the NRC exams consist of a three hour written exam and a four hour operational exam. They will probably be during the week of April 30, 2012.
All this information will be publicized during orientation week and the first week of classes. If you somehow miss the notices, feel free to email or call after classes start. Melinda Krahenbuhl, Ph.D.Reed Research Reactor, Chem-102 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. Portland, OR 97202-8199 503-777-7222f: 503-777-7274
